


Knowers and Demons II: Darkness There and Nothing More

by EnthusiasticFish



Series: Knowers and Demons [2]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Friendship, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28866507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnthusiasticFish/pseuds/EnthusiasticFish
Summary: Sequel to Set the Captives Free. Tim and Tony are pulled back into the realm of spirits and demons, but this time, the world is at stake.
Series: Knowers and Demons [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2116893
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Since this story is fairly firmly located in a universe of demons and spirits that I mostly created, you may want to read Set the Captives Free first, but I think this story does stand on its own. The title comes from Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven".

**Darkness There and Nothing More  
**by Enthusiastic Fish

**Chapter 1**

Tim tossed and turned on his bed. He couldn't help feeling that something was about to happen. ...but he didn't know what it was.

"Some knower I am," he muttered and turned his pillow over. Then, he stopped and looked at the palm of his hand. The tattoo there was burning bright red instead of its usual black.

Instantly, he was alert. It had been more than a year since the destruction of Mongothsberd and more than a year since he'd had any indication of something supernatural. He liked it that way. The world was a brighter, happier place when he could forget about that aspect of his life. ...but right now, he couldn't do anything other than strain his senses beyond their usual bounds and try and understand what warning he was receiving.

He lay on his back and stared up at the ceiling. There was something oppressive in the air. He wasn't safe...but he didn't know how to _become_ safe.

Suddenly, his phone started ringing, but as he rolled over to answer it, hands burst out of his bed, numerous hands. They began pressing him down into the mattress. Tim screamed as he struggled against them and his tattoo began to writhe and skitter around his palm. Then, the hands gave a mighty pull and Tim sank down into the mattress...

...and vanished.

The phone rang until voice mail picked it up.

" _Hey, McGee. It's Tony. You know that weird tattoo thing on my chest, the one that no one else can see? Well...it's really weird tonight...like it's glowing. That can't be normal, right? There has be something going on. ...oh, great and wonderful knower, please let me know. Give me a call back."_

An hour later, the phone rang again. Again, voice mail.

" _Okay, McGee, something really weird is going on. I'm getting worried. I don't want to sound like a nervous Nelly, but give me a call when you get this. I don't care what time it is. Okay?"_

An hour later, there was a knock at the door. Then, the unmistakable sound of a lock being picked. Then, Tony came in, looking around the apartment.

"McGee? McGee?"

He was wary, even though there was nothing overtly menacing. Maybe it was the time he'd spent with Tim last year in Mongothsberd, maybe just because he knew that at three in the morning, Tim should _be_ there. Or maybe it was the fact that he had an invisible tattoo of a three-headed dragon on his chest and it had started glowing and wouldn't stop.

Whatever the reason, he was careful as he walked through the apartment to Tim's bedroom.

"McGee?" he called out...somehow knowing he wouldn't get an answer.

The bedroom was empty, the only sign of recent occupancy, the tangled sheets on the bed. Suddenly, Tony felt a compulsion to go and check out the bathroom. It was weird because he would have looked in there anyway, just to be sure that Tim really wasn't there, but this was a compulsion that he couldn't fight.

Weirded out, he obeyed the compulsion and walked into the bathroom, passed the bathtub to the mirror. He looked into the mirror and...

...and Tim was standing behind him, faded and afraid.

Tony whirled around. No one was there.

He turned back. Tim was standing behind him in the mirror. His mouth moved but Tony couldn't hear anything.

"Tim?" he asked.

Tim stopped talking, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Tony," he whispered...from behind.

Tony turned around once more and Tim was there...sort of. He was translucent.

"McGee...what's going on?"

"I don't know. Tony...they'll be back soon. I need your help. I don't know where I am, but...it's a lot stranger than going through the looking glass."

Tim looked to the side and he began to look even more afraid.

"Oh, no. They're coming back. I don't have time." He looked at Tony. "Trust me, Tony."

"Trust you?"

Tim nodded and then thrust his tattooed hand at Tony's chest. There was a flash of light and Tony fell to the floor unconscious. Tim looked at him and then looked away.

"No...no...what do you want?" he screamed...and vanished once more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Tim looked around. It felt a lot like the empty space he and Tony had floated in while breaching the walls of Mongothsberd. ...but there were no stars. It was black. The only signs of anything else were the occasionally flashes of darkness from his jailers as they entered and left his prison. There was no door...at least none that he could see. It was a strange kind of darkness. He could see himself. He just couldn't see anything else. It was a tangible darkness, not darkness meaning the absence of light.

_Mine..._

The hissed thought assaulted him as a mass thicker darkness invaded his prison and swirled around.

 _You have known us before,_ another thought came to him.

"Yes," Tim said, forcing himself to speak aloud even in this place where physical existence seemed not to be. He was only occasionally aware of his body...mostly as various beings attempted to take possession of it. They were nowhere near as strong as the Proprietor had been, however, and Tim found that he was easily able to repel them...even if the experience terrified him every time.

_You will know us again._

"No!" Tim shouted. "You will not take control of me again."

_You cannot resist forever. You are mortal. Weak. We are eternal. Strong. You will tire. We will win._

Tim lifted his hand, brandishing his tattoo like a weapon. The three-headed dragon began to glow.

"Three into one!" he said.

The thicker darkness retreated from the light, leaving Tim alone for the moment. He sighed with relief and stretched his mind out for the mental linked he had created with Tony, a link to reality which he desperately needed.

_Tony..._

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tony opened his eyes and wished he hadn't. What had happened? Then, he remembered.

"McGee!" he said and sat up quickly. He was alone on the floor in Tim's bathroom.

_Oh, good. You're awake._

"McGee?" Tony asked, looking around again.

_Don't bother, Tony. I'm not there. You can only hear me in your head._

"Um...okay. Why?"

_It's too hard to project an image of myself to go along with the voice. I'm not very good at this stuff._

" _What_ stuff?"

_You know. Spirits. Demons. That stuff._

"What's going on?" Tony asked. "I'm not a knower. Remember?"

_I'm not sure I can explain it, Tony. Not in words. I'm only figuring this out as I go along._

"Better than me. Where are you?"

_Everywhere and nowhere. I'm in the place beyond reality._

"Fantasy?"

_No. Beyond reality. I guess you could call it metareality._

"Metareality? You just made that up!"

_Yeah, I did. Doesn't make it untrue. Tony, this is really serious._

"Like Proprietor serious?"

_Yeah. Maybe worse._

"How could it possibly be worse?"

There was a long silence.

"McGee? Probie?" Nothing. "Dang it, McGee! Get back here!"

_Sorry... Tony, they're trying to possess me. They're trying to use me to get into reality._

"How?"

_I'm a knower. Did you ever wonder how that worked?_

"Not genetics, I take it?"

_Not exactly. I...I hear things, not like you're thinking, though._

"How do you know what I'm thinking?"

 _I_ am _in your head, Tony. Even if I wasn't, I know where your mind would go. ...and it's not like that. It's...like I can see and hear more but I don't notice it until I've already done it._

"That doesn't make any sense, Probie."

_I know. Best I can do. The point is that I'm innately in both reality and metareality. It's how knowing works. That's why they could take me. That's why I can get into your head. ...and that's why they're trying to use me. ...and why they have to fail._

"Okay, now you're making me nervous."

_You're only nervous? Good. I'm terrified. I need you to help me get out of here._

"How? What the heck do you think _I_ can do?"

 _Get into this place and help me get out. How? I don't know. Not yet. I'm still trying to figure it out. This is not anything like I expected. I knew_ something _was going to happen, but nothing like this. I'm only seeing a step or two into the darkness. I'll keep you updated._

"You do that. What about now? What am I supposed to do now?"

_You need to find the entrance._

"The entrance? McGee, this is not DiNozzo stuff. This is weird McGee stuff. Creepy McGee stuff."

 _Tony, you chose to remember! You chose to see! You can't back out on that now! You might be able to ignore it most of the time but you can't..._ not _know!_

Tony was surprised at the vehemence in Tim's voice.

"McGee..."

_Tony, we are talking about an invasion that reality can't take! We're talking about... Don't you remember how it felt with the Proprietor inside you? Don't you remember how it felt having your body possessed by a demon?_

Tony did remember. It was one of those things that he _wished_ he could forget, the utter powerlessness, the fear and terror of knowing that another being had taken possession of his body. He remembered.

"Yeah. I remember."

 _Imagine that. Over and over again. All over the world until these...spirits, demons...whatever you want to call them, until they take over the planet, possessing people until they're of no more use, until they're nothing but useless husks._ That's _what they want to do! They need a knower to make it happen. They need_ me _, Tony. ...and they_ have _me right now. We can't let them do this. You can see if you look. You can feel if you dare try._

"Feel what?" Tony asked, more afraid than he ever wanted to admit.

_Look at the bed, Tony. Get up off the floor. Go into my bedroom and look at my bed._

Tony did as he was told and looked at the bed. It was messy and the sheets twisted.

"What am I supposed to see? It looks normal to me."

 _Look at it, Tony!_ Tim's mental shout nearly crackled with command. And then, using a sense he had only be vaguely aware of, he stared at the bed. Almost as though there was a translucent overlay, Tony saw dozens of holes all over the bed. He jumped back and swore.

 _You see it now?_ Tim asked.

"What is that?"

_That's how they got me. I don't know how long they must have been planning this. I was laying on my bed and arms popped out of it...and dragged me down...to this place._

Tony backed up another step.

"McGee..."

_Don't worry. You'll have to use the door. You'll be drawn to it if you let yourself be. It's like Mongothsberd._

"Everywhere and nowhere?"

 _Exactly._ Another pause. _Tony, they're coming back again. I have to keep them back. Search for the door. Don't let them win!_

Then, the pressure Tony hadn't even noticed was gone.

"McGee?" he asked, testing the mental contact.

No reply.

"McGee?"

Nothing. Only silence. ...but the holes in the bed stayed where they were. They wouldn't disappear. For a few seconds, he wanted nothing more than to deny that any of it had ever happened. Then, he thought of Tim's voice. Even while he had been ordering Tony around, there had been a hefty element of fear and terror. If McGee could push through that fear, Tony figured he could as well.

He closed his eyes and tried to feel something of that spirit world, that...metareality. It was hard...because he _had_ been ignoring it. While he couldn't forget all that had happened, he could try to forget that he could see more.

But not now, not with Tim's life and possibly the whole world hanging in the balance. It didn't seem fair that two guys were supposed to save the world.

Even so, Tony squared his shoulders and steeled himself for another foray into this strange world...one that apparently _always_ existed. He had survived Mongothsberd. He could survive this, no matter how crazy it seemed.

Then, strangely, there _was_ something: a faint tendril of something _other_ , something alien to this reality. It was barely on the edge of his senses...or it was making use of senses he didn't know he _had_. Curious, he lifted his shirt. Yep, his chest was glowing. He wondered, if by getting that strange-looking tattoo last year, he had been given some of Tim's...knowing ability, just enough that he _did_ sense this extra bit. It was just past 3:30 a.m., but any thought of sleep was gone. Tim hadn't said, but Tony suspected there was some sort of time limit to this rescue...and dawn seemed to be a likely deadline. Literally. Without another thought Tony walked out of Tim's apartment, intent on tracking that faint call, leading to metareality.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Get...out!" Tim shouted and with a final burst of effort, he expelled the spirit possessing him.

_You are weakening. You will succumb. Give up._

Tim didn't even bother trying to deny it. The truth was obvious. The assault on his body and soul had become relentless as spirit after spirit attacked and was repelled. He knew why they were doing it. They needed to break down his defenses, wear him down so he could no longer prevent them from getting out into reality.

Then, in his brief respite, he reached out for the knowledge that seemed so much easier to grasp in this place and an idea came to him. _They_ could use him as a pathway to reality, but _he_ could possibly trap one inside him and know what it knew. Maybe he could more fully understand where he was (if there _was_ something so definite as a _where_ in this place). There was a flash of darkness and another spirit dove at him...and then into him. The force of it knocked him backward...and sight disappeared (not that he could really see anything besides himself anyway) as he struggled against the possession. He wasn't sure this would work. He hadn't ever tried turning the tables on the spirits. Could a mortal human being, even a knower, possess a spirit? His mind said yes; so Tim carefully locked his mind and body against escape and bent his will onto the darkness now trapped inside him.

He felt the spirit skittering around in panic once it realized it could not leave, once it realized that it was no longer the attacker. It was, itself, now under attack. Tim pursued it until it was cornered...figuratively speaking. Then, he reached out and touched the spirit, the darkness. As he made contact with the essence of the spirit, he felt as though his mind was suddenly aflame, burning, tormented, alone and in anguish for all eternity.

Tim screamed aloud, the sound echoing through his prison, and he fell headlong into the experiences of the spirit he possessed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Tony walked through the dark empty streets of Silver Spring, searching for the entrance he could sense. It was like a crazy and elaborate game of Hot and Cold. He took a few steps in one direction and tried to determine whether or not the feeling was getting closer or farther away. For awhile now, it had seemed to be getting closer. He stopped and looked around...and then nearly laughed out loud as he realized where he was.

Could the entrance to this metareality really be located in the Maryland extension of Rock Creek Park? Maybe that explained why they investigated so many murders there. People were drawn to it, even unconsciously. He smiled at the thought and kept walking. He was just inside the borders of the park when he was driven to his knees by a mental shriek of pain. Then, he felt a sensation of terror and loneliness...of absolute despair wash over him.

"McGee!" he shouted..and then felt silly. Even if Tim _had_ been the source of that, he wasn't going to help him by standing there stupidly waiting for something to happen. He pulled himself back to his feet and began searching. The feeling of being close to his target increased.

Then, suddenly, without any fanfare, there it was. It wasn't a door so much as a kind of solid darkness outlined against the trees. He walked toward it and then stopped. He had no idea what he was going to see there. He didn't even understand really _where_ he was going. He just knew that Tim was there. Somewhere. Wherever _there_ was. He took a deep breath.

"Okay, DiNozzo...just take a step. It's right there! You found it! It's like _Labyrinth_. The goblins have taken McGee away and you have to go and get him back. Maybe David Bowie has him. That would terrify anyone. Then, of course, there are the muppets from every sane human being's nightmares. You can't leave McGee at the mercy of David Bowie and psychotic muppets!"

The image was entertaining and allowed him to feel steady enough to take a step. He started to move forward when Tim was suddenly back in his mind.

 _Tony..._ Even in his head, Tim sounded bad, strained and afraid.

"McGee...you all right? I found the entrance! I'm coming!"

 _No. I was wrong. Don't come. Tony, please don't come. Stay away. As far away as..._ Another shriek of pain.

"McGee!" Tony shouted and lurched forward...into the portal to metareality.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim couldn't comprehend most of what he saw. It was the powerful emotions that had him reeling. These spirits had been banished to this realm of unending torment, their only chance for escape when they could invade reality and force their way into a physical body. Humans were preferred, but any body would do. Often, they would drive that being, whatever it was, to its death, so crazed did they become at having some sort of physicality. Those who survived numerous possessions gained more experience, became able to take positions of power over their fellow spirits, planning for more and greater controls.

The agony of an eternity of existence and the anticipation of an eternity of existence as darkness...it became the lake of fire and brimstone, the knowledge that there was nothing to look forward to except the darkness. Only the darkness.

After what seemed to be an enternity of agony, Tim was able to remember himself, to feel the separation between his soul and the spirit he had possessed. Then, he was able to direct the spirit onto why Tim had been brought to this place. What he saw, what he learned from the mind of that spirit horrified him...not least because he undersood that by asking Tony to come, he was doing exactly what the spirits wanted him to do. They wanted (and needed) Tony as much as they wanted him.

_Yes. Mine._

"No!" Tim shouted. He thrust away the spirit from him, hurling it out away from his body with as much force as he could muster. Desperately, he reached out for Tony's mind, begging him not to come.

Now, he knew. He wasn't enough. He was required as the bridge, but they needed someone on the receiving end. They needed Tony. He knew, but he knew too late for it to do any good.

The assault began and Tim began to crumple beneath the onslaught.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

He couldn't understand it. He couldn't comprehend where he was. The imagery which assaulted his psyche was such that Tony felt his brain make an effort to comprehend the incoming stimuli and then give up...leaving some sort of washed out wasteland behind for him to see. Somehow, he knew that it wasn't...real...or metareal. Whatever. He knew he wasn't seeing what was really there, but it sufficed to allow him to move and that was enough.

Tony struggled to listen for Tim and couldn't find any sign of him in his mind. He didn't like that. He pulled up his shirt and the normally invisible tattoo was glowing...but it wasn't glowing brightly as it had been before. The glowing this time was black. Not like black light, but as if the color black had managed to take on a glow, even if that should be impossible. It both terrified him and made him feel better. At least there was _something_ on his side in this place. He didn't know where to go, however, because he had assumed that Tim would be there to help guide him along. He wasn't.

He looked back over his shoulder at the portal through which he'd come. It was still there and Tony could still feel it. It was almost impossible to resist the attraction to the life he sensed on the other side of that barrier.

"Life can wait. Gotta find McCreepy first," Tony said to himself.

He looked around the desolate and barren wasteland. At one moment, it seemed to go on forever and at the next it looked like a matte painting two inches from his face. Which was real? Who knew?

"Walk forward, Tony. Walk. You can't do anything by standing here."

Still, he stood in place and stared around him. Every so often, he caught of flash of...of darkness. And each flash terrified him because it meant that there were other...other _things_. ...and so far, he hadn't seen a single muppet or sighting of David Bowie.

"How long have I been here?" he asked himself. It seemed like forever and two seconds at once.

_You have always been here..._

Tony whirled around. While there had been no real sound, it hadn't come from inside his head.

"No, I haven't," he said. "I just got here."

_You have always been here..._

Tony knelt down on the ground and touched the hard-packed earth. ...and felt nothing. Freaked out, he stood up quickly and tried to decide where to go...was there even a _where_ to go to?

_McGee! Come on, man! Help me out, here! I'm in this place whether you like it or not! Help me find you so we can both get out!_

Then, he felt it...just for a moment. ...but it wasn't pleasant. It was the feeling of someone shrieking.

_You are here._

Tony decided that he didn't like hearing thoughts outside of his head. It was wrong and it shouldn't be happening. He focused on that brief feeling of pain and turned himself in that direction. He took a step...

...and the wasteland disappeared.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim felt as though the walls of darkness were creeping inward. Soon his prison would be lodged within his own body...and through that body, he would become the means for the destruction of reality. This time, he couldn't just kill himself and hope for the best. He didn't have his gun. He couldn't stop his own heart, not in any way of which he was aware at least. He could only struggle against the spirits...the demons trying to take him over. There were so many of them...

...but then, he heard Tony's demand and he couldn't help acknowledging it, just for a moment. He weakened and let out a brief burst from his mind.

Both instantly and years later, Tim heard Tony's voice, the one real sound in this metareality.

"McGee! There you are!"

Tim opened his eyes and could see nothing. Then, he felt his will breaking down and he refocused on the assault, closing his eyes to anything that might distract him again.

"McGee...what's going on?"

 _Shut up, Tony,_ Tim thought to himself. _Go away..._

"I can't do that, Probie! For one thing, I have no idea how I managed to take one step and end up right where you are. What's going on here?"

The attack faltered for just a moment as Tony managed to distract not only Tim but also the spirits around him. Tim was able to thrust them out for a brief period. He opened his eyes again and still could see nothing but the darkness.

"Tony? Where are you?"

"I'm right here, McGee."

Suddenly, there was a hand touching his arm. Tim saw it, but he still couldn't see Tony.

"I can't see you."

"What _can_ you see then?"

"Darkness. That's all."

"You know what? Metareality sucks. Big time."

Tim laughed. "Tony, get out of here. You have to. Don't bother trying to get me out. Just get away."

"Not happening, McGee."

Tim sighed in frustration. "Would you listen to reason?"

"No!"

"No?"

"That's right, McPessimist. No. I'm not going to listen to reason. Do you know why? Because I'm standing on ground that doesn't exist, holding onto your arm even though you seem to think that you're stuck in some sort of dark prison. I'm seeing all these weird shapes floating around. This is _not_ the place to even _discuss_ reason, let alone listen to it. So...no, I'm not going to listen to reason...and no shooting yourself this time."

"I don't have a gun this time."

"Good, because what's-her-name isn't likely to come and bring you back to life this time either."

Tim could feel the spirits gathering for another attack. He could see the thickening knot of black getting ready to dive into him again.

"Please, Tony. If they get me...and they get you...then they'll have all they need to take over the world. That's way more important than I am. That's more important than either of us. I'm stuck in here."

"...but you're not _in_ anywhere, McGee! You're lying on the ground, curled in a fetal position and I've got a hold of your arm."

"No," Tim said. "I can see your arm, but that's all. I'm stuck in here, and you can't get me out..." He looked up. "...and they're coming again, Tony! They're coming!"

The black shadow dove at him and Tim screamed.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

From his fetal position on the hard nonexistent ground, Tim suddenly shrieked and flung himself onto his back, his eyes wide and staring up at the impossible sky. He breathed in and out too quickly to be healthy. Tony looked at him and then looked around him. It was like being in someone's psychedelic fantasy. Things kept shifting and changing...and yet, Tony could tell that none of it was real. Nothing except for those strange black shapes flitting around the ever-changing sky.

Tim screamed again, arms flung out and then drawn in to his chest.

"Come on, McGee...this can't all be real. What you see and what I see can't both be real. One of us has to be right. Don't we?"

Tony wondered what would happen if he simply picked Tim up and tried to go back through the portal.

_Yes, do that. Take him away. Save him._

_No, Tony! Don't! Don't try that! It won't work. It will be worse! Leave me here and get away! When I lose...so do you!_

_He will lose. You should take him back._

_No! Please!_

Tony looked at Tim, still showing signs of whatever torment he was suffering. He didn't know what do. He figured that Tim was right and he couldn't just take him back. That would be too easy...but what else was there?

Would he really have to let Tim die...perish...whatever... Did he have to see that happen? Again?

He looked at Tim's hand. The three-headed dragon tattoo was motionless, black...nothing.

_No, McGee, you can't give up. I won't let you._

Driven by some instinct, Tony pulled off his shirt, grabbed Tim's limp hand and put the tattoo on Tim's hand over his own tattoo.

Suddenly, he felt as though he were on fire and he began to scream.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Fire rushed through him, but of a different kind than he'd felt from his demonic attackers. This fire was no less painful than the attack but it was...also energizing at the same time. It gave him the strength to push away the attack. He felt something...something beneath his hand. Skin. He was touching someone.

_Tony..._

That was it. He was feeling Tony. Tony was...

Suddenly, Tim realized what was happening and he wrenched his hand away, back into the floating darkness. He was sapping Tony's own strength, taking away his life. No! No! No! He couldn't do that! Not for a worthless, hopeless cause.

_McGee..._

The thought was winded and weak, but still there.

_Don't do that again, Tony! I could have killed you!_

_What did I even do?_

_You connected my...my soul to yours. It's like...like osmosis in a cell. It tries to make the amounts equal...and I have a lot more empty space than you do!_

_What does that mean?_

_It's impossible to explain it in words._

_Give it try._

_No time right now. Just don't do that again._

_You sound better._

Tim grimaced. Tony _would_ focus on that...

Tim took a breath. Then, another breath. The spirits had withdrawn, surprised at the sudden surge of life inside him, the sudden strength that had replaced the dying resistance inside him. Tony's hand reappeared on his arm and Tim knew that Tony wouldn't ever leave him here. No matter how much Tim _wanted_ him to do it, he wouldn't and so Tim swallowed his pride and tried to think of a way to get them both out.

_Only one of us can be right..._

The thought struck Tim with the force of a sledgehammer making him forget his intention to continue berating Tony. Even though he had no hope of succeeding completely, Tony had been right. Even though they were two residents of reality stuck in the covering skin of metareality, only one could be right..if they could _decide_ what was right.

"Tell me what I should see, Tony," Tim said, finally. "You have to tell me _exactly_ what I should see."

"Why?"

"Because I can't see it. I'm in prison. All I see is darkness."

"Exactly? How exact?" Tony's voice asked.

Tim faltered as there was another brief foray by the spirits to invade his body again. He felt only the pain and fear of possession. No hand on his arm. Nothing but them. Nothing but those spirits trying to take him over. Using his newly-gathered strength, Tim pushed them back once more but it drained him more than he had expected.

"Think...of it this way, Tony: you're creating reality for me. We're not in reality here and we can create it. Where I am has no detail. Nothing. Only me and the darkness. I can't get out of here and I can't see anything beyond it. I'm trapped. The only way we're going to end up in the same place is if you can tell me what reality looks like."

"Oh... _that_ exact."

"Just don't take me out of here yet, Tony. We can't leave...while...while they're still inside me."

"They're inside you?"

"Not at the moment, but they can get in any time they want and we can't let that happen. If I go into reality from here...I'm going to be that bridge, the conduit to reality that they need...and that's what we can't allow."

"Well, we're nowhere near the exit, Probie."

"We will be if you think we are. Tell me what I should be seeing, Tony."

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"No."

Tim laughed and then quickly yanked himself away from Tony's grasp once again as the spirits dove into him again and searched for additional prey. They knew Tony was there...somewhere. Tony's arm vanished again, leaving Tim trapped within the walls of darkness. He closed off his mind, shut away any indication of Tony's existence, trying to not only keep him safe but also everyone in reality who stood to lose from the loss in metareality. Even if it did end up calling for his own destruction, better that than the destruction of the world and everyone and everything in it.

"McGee! Stop pulling away!"

The arm was back but Tim hadn't been able to push the spirits from him yet and they sensed Tony's presence. Tim thrust himself between the spirits and Tony's mind. They couldn't have him. They would _not_ take him. Not now. Not ever. No.

"Tony, get away!" Tim hissed, panting with the effort of trying to keep Tony safe and his own mind free.

Either Tim was able to sever the connection or Tony did wise up to what Tim was trying to do. His arm disappeared. Tim felt alone but knew that was how it had to be. The spirits milled about and then, Tim gathered all his energy and made it into a forcefield of sorts and pushed them out. He succeeded, but the effort left him feeling so drained that he could barely muster up the _oomph_ to contact Tony again.

"...they're gone now...Tony...for a while at least..."

"Okay...um...I'm supposed to tell you where you are...right?"

"...yeah..." Tim found that even mustering up the energy to care was too much and he slumped down in his prison.

"McGee?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"You're way too still and it's making me nervous."

A small spark of curiosity. "What position am I in?"

"You're laying on your back, spread-eagled on the ground. Your eyes are open but they're...not normal."

"Not normal?"

"No. They're all...glassy...like a creepy doll's eyes. They look too big and they're round and...and...glassy. Could you blink, please?"

"I didn't know I wasn't."

"Blink, Probie. Please?" Tony actually sounded scared.

Tim thought about blinking and he thought he might have blinked.

"Did I blink?"

"Yeah. Once."

"Did it help?"

"No."

"Then, forget about it." Tim lay down in his prison, on the ground, on the darkness. He lay on his back spread out his arms and legs. He felt tired. He wanted to sleep.

_...yes...sleep...sleep..._

The seductive voice in his head frightened him and he pushed it away.

"Okay...okay...Tony. Tell me."

"Uh...right. Okay. It's...It's a wasteland."

"What does it look like?"

"The ground is hard, except when I try to touch it. Then, it's not there. But it's that white baked look you get in places like the Nevada Desert. Ever been there?"

"Sagebrush?"

"No. Just the white baked ground. It goes on forever without any detail. ...but when I first got here, I took a step and was right by you even though the portal was right by me."

"That's because...you were...trying to get to me. So that's where you were."

"McGee...this is really really weird."

"I know. What else do you see?"

"The sky...but McGee...I don't know if...if I can describe it. It keeps changing. It's like a psychedelic nightmare! If anyone had acid trips like this, they'd never use drugs again."

Tim couldn't help smiling a little at that.

"Tony...that's not enough. I need to know what it is. I need to...see what you're seeing."

"How? I'm doing my best, Probie."

Tim thought about it...and he knew...but he also knew he didn't have the energy to do it...but he couldn't ask Tony to give up more of his own energy. He would need it, too.

"I need to see through your eyes."

"How are we going to do that?"

"Open your eyes."

"They are open."

"No...I mean _really_ open your eyes. In your mind."

"How? Look, can't you just do it for me? Read my mind?"

"No. I can't."

"Why not?"

Tim hesitated. "Because...I can barely talk to you, Tony. I...I don't have enough in me to get it from your mind. I...can't do it. If they come again...I can't fight them off. It'll be the...the end. I'll lose."

"Okay, Probie. You can't talk like that. Really. Knock it off."

Tim felt Tony grab his wrist and press his tattooed palm against his chest.

"No! No! Don't!"

_You need to stop this martyred attitude, McGee. You are assuming that you're dead no matter what. So knock it off and fight back! You fought back every other time last year! You always fought back! Don't give up now because...I can't be the only guy in the world who knows about this stuff. It's too freaky, McGee! So man up and do what you have to do!_

Tony's thoughts faded away and Tim felt the energy surge into him...and away from Tony. Tony fell away and Tim took a deep breath. He closed his eyes (not that it mattered) and focused on Tony's mind and saw the world around him. It was insane. It was wrong...but it was what Tony was seeing. Why? Why was Tony see this strange, phantasmagorical imagery? It didn't make any sense! ...but it meant something. It was what he was seeing and it was a far sight better than what Tim himself was seeing. So...now he knew what he should see. Could he _make_ himself see it? Could he really believe it was true? It was no more real than this darkness in which they had trapped him, but it was no _less_ real either.

"Tony?"

No reply.

_Tony!_

Nothing.

_TONY!_

There was nothing. Tim couldn't feel Tony's arm. Couldn't feel his hand. Couldn't feel anything. He tried to see. He tried to see something other than the darkness. If Tony was incapacitated, that was dangerous...and Tim felt it would be his fault for letting Tony give up his own energy.

"Tony! I need to see the desert! I need to see where I am!" Tim shouted. He could feel the shadows gathering again, the spirits were getting ready for another assault. They wouldn't want to be repelled this time. They would wait until victory was assured. They would wait, patiently.

Tim tried and tried to see what Tony saw. He tried to feel that hard-baked ground that was both something and nothing at the same time. He tried to see that sky that never looked the same at any one moment. He tried to see it. He _needed_ to see it! He had to.

The darkness began to clear...like the reverse of the black spots one saw when heading toward passing out. ...and then, without any fanfare, Tim was lying on his back on the hard, nonexistent ground, staring up at a sky that made no sense. He took a breath. The black swarm was still there, growing and growing.

Breathe.

Breathe.

He looked to the side. There was Tony. Out like the proverbial light and not moving. Tim tried to sit up...but he couldn't.

...and the swarm was getting ready to descend.

It had to end here. It had to end now.

...but Tim didn't think he could do it.

He didn't know what to do.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Tim stared up at the sky. He couldn't move...or at least, he couldn't get up.

_Why does that matter?_

The thought came to his mind without any fanfare. ...and it was true, Tim knew. It _didn't_ matter that he couldn't move. None of this was real. It existed, but it wasn't real. It was metareal, beyond real. He didn't need to move within its rules. He could make his own rules of reality here...because physicality trumped this spiritual and demonic existence. It wasn't that he was stronger. It was just that what he was made of was inherently stronger. The binding of spirit and body together into a complete soul was stronger than spirit alone. ...which was, of course, why the spirits wanted to take over the world in the first place. They wanted to become stronger. They wanted what they had rejected countless eons before.

And Tim knew he couldn't let them. ...and he couldn't let Tony become the first victim. With a deep breath, Tim thought himself upright.

...to his surprise, it worked. Tim smiled to himself and looked up at the sky, crazy and insane...and somehow fitting. Nothing made sense in this place...or at least, it didn't make _physical_ sense, but it didn't have to. That's not what this place was. Tim knew. What he had to do was find a way to seal up the opening so that there couldn't _be_ this possibility of spirits getting through to reality. Metareality was their fate and it would be where they stayed...where they _had_ to stay.

A smile crossed his lips as he thought of the Disney movies he'd watched with Sarah when she was little. The villain always seemed to grow impossibly large, and yet the hero always won. There was always a vulnerability. ...and it seemed to him that these demons were no exception. Tim was physical. They were not.

...but the hero always had a weakness as well. Tim looked down at Tony. He was...almost translucent on the ground. He had given too much of himself. He was weaker and that meant he would be easier to take.

No.

Tim would not allow that to happen. That was his weakness. Tony, lying defenseless on the ground, needing protection.

Still, he wasn't sure what to do, and that knot of black was coiling, ready to strike. Tim thought frantically, trying to find a solution that wouldn't be only a temporary reprieve. He needed to _beat_ them and then get out and seal the entrance behind him.

_Think. Think, Tim! You can do this! Tony needs you to do this!_

At the thought of Tony, Tim suddenly had an idea of what he could do, but he recoiled from it. To do it would put him in danger...but it would also require that he take still more of the energy Tony had given him and he wasn't sure how much more Tony could stand to lose.

...but what would happen to the rest of the world if he lost? Tony would understand.

Tim hoped he would be alive to understand.

He thought himself kneeling over Tony's motionless body. Trembling, he lifted Tony's shirt and brought his tattooed palm over Tony's chest. Then, he hesitated. He didn't want to do this. He didn't know if he would be killing his friend by taking more from him.

Then, he looked up.

The knot stopped coiling.

It sped down toward him.

No more indecision. No more waiting.

Tim brought his hand down onto Tony's chest and felt Tony's body tremble and the surge of energy into his own body. Then, he didn't bother to think himself standing.

He whirled and faced the coming onslaught.

"Three into one!" he shouted, his voice sounding strange in this metareality.

The declaration reverberated around him...and Tim felt himself splitting from one distinct human being into three separate...beings. They made a ring just as the black mass of spirits dove. Each individual Tim held out his tattooed hand, the dragon glowing and coiling, becoming alive. It began skittering over each of the three hands.

The demons began spinning in the center of the circle of Tims, worried, seeking a way out.

None was to be found. Tim had committed himself from the moment he had chosen the desperate course of taking more from Tony than he might have to give. Tim didn't dare even think about that. All he could think about was focusing his energy on the swirling mass currently trapped by the small piece of reality he'd created here in metareality.

_Mine!_

The voice curled enticingly inside his mind, seeking for a purchase.

 _No!_ Tim shouted and repelled the spirit, forcing it back into the swirling mass of lesser spirits which had chosen to follow it.

Then, the three Tims took a breath as one and exhaled. With the exhalation the three dragons sprang toward the coiling mass of spirits. They grew in size, eyes glowing and belching fire from their mouths. They launched themselves at the spirits, each one with a slightly different hue: green, red and blue. The three dragons moved through the fabric of Tim's created piece of reality, claws out, rending the mass, tearing each individual spirit from the larger group, annihilating them as they came on. Relentlessly. Endlessly. They couldn't be possessed because they were not physical beings. They couldn't be absorbed because they were an extension of Tim himself.

They were the force of Tim's own existence coming onward, destroying with the power of physical reality.

When the dragons reached the center of the circle, they leapt into one another...and the three Tims were absorbed into one. The dragons, now a three-headed specter, returned to the palm of the single Tim who staggered backward, tripped over Tony's seemingly-lifeless body and fell to the ground.

Tim looked at Tony.

He looked at the world around them. It was empty. Barren. Lifeless. Even the sky was losing its former insanity. Tim looked toward where the center of the circle had been. There was a churning small mass, struggling for release. Tim was holding it there, but it wouldn't last. Many of the spirits had been annihilated, but not all of them. Tim didn't have the strength for all of them.

He looked at Tony again.

Carefully, hoping he was doing this right, he closed his eyes and brought his palm onto Tony's chest again, this time thinking about returning energy. His own reserves were dangerously low, but he had to make sure Tony had enough life left in him to leave this place.

It took longer than Tim had hoped it would. It took _more_ of him than Tim had hoped it would. He felt his own strength waning, but he had to continue until Tony gave some indication of life. ...but at the same time, Tim had to keep the existing spirits at bay until they could escape. Black spots began to dance in his vision.

_Come on, Tony! Wake up!_

Tony groaned.

Relieved, Tim withdrew his hand from Tony's chest, grabbed Tony's arm and then thought them to the entrance.

The portal swirled in front of him. Tim stood up and tried to drag Tony with him.

No such luck. Tony was too heavy, and Tim was too weak.

"Get _up_ , Tony!" Tim said through gritted teeth. "Get off your lazy butt and help me out of here!"

Nothing.

Tim had never tried this before, but it seemed the perfect opportunity.

_Thwack!_

"Hey!" Tony protested, coming awake. "Only Gibbs gets to do that!"

"Get up, Tony! I can't get you out of here myself!"

"What's going on?"

Tim knew he didn't have much time before he would lose any chance of sealing the portal. If he didn't, all this would have been for nothing.

"Explanations later, Tony! Get out of here, now!"

"And you?"

"I'm coming! I have to. Otherwise...no point at all."

"You all right, Probie?"

"No!" Tim said, losing patience...and his energy. "Get up!"

Tony finally started climbing to his feet, shaking with exhaustion.

"What happened?"

"Later!" Tim begged.

Tony nodded and stood. Together, they staggered through the portal just as Tim felt his ability to hold the spirits in check vanish.

"Hold me up, Tony," Tim said.

"What?"

"Tony, for once in your life, please, just trust me and don't ask any questions. I have to stop them. Here. Now...not later after dinner. Hold me up. I can't stand anymore."

Indeed, Tim felt his legs buckle. Just before he crumpled to the ground, he felt Tony catch him and hold him up to the portal. Shaking with more than weariness, Tim held out his tattooed hand toward the portal.

"Three into one!" he said again. A beam of light shot from his hand, taking the shape of a three-headed dragon. It began crawling all over the portal. Wherever it crawled, it left a trail of light, bright shining beams of light which seemed to be melting and shifting the portal. Tim couldn't see anymore. His vision was fading quickly and he was relying more and more on Tony's arms holding him up.

"That's enough, McGee!"

"Not...yet..." Tim managed to say.

He could sense the remaining spirits coming for the portal. Desperately, he urged sealing to increase in speed. The dragon swelled in size and crawled faster. There was a loud clang and the portal shook. The spirits were there, trying to get through. The sealing wasn't done yet, but it was close. Tim knew it was. He was running on fumes now. With a final surge of energy, he lurched forward from Tony's arms and threw himself at the portal, swiping the final edge with his tattooed hand. The three-headed dragon swirled over to the hand and took up residence in its rightful place. Tim felt himself slide down the portal and could feel the thwarted energy on the other side, the anger and fury of the spirits left behind in metareality...held back for another season.

"Finished..." Tim managed to say and then he was falling.

He thought he heard Tony shouting his name but then sound disappeared along with sight and he was lost in darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

It wasn't real. It couldn't be...but that didn't mean that he wouldn't enjoy it while it lasted. Floating gently in...nothingness, he was content to be there for awhile. He knew he couldn't stay forever, but he didn't mind being there for the moment. He knew that back in reality, there were things he had to do, worries he had to remember...but here, he didn't have to think about that.

He had found a place of security and safety. It was only temporary, but it was safe...and simple. He liked that.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Tim...come on, man," Tony said, shaking Tim's unresponsive body. The only reason he was sure Tim was still alive was because he was breathing in and out...and most disturbingly, his eyes were open, seemingly staring at Tony but not actually taking anything in. He was slumped against the now-sealed portal, his living tattoo resuming its place on his palm.

Tony had no idea exactly what Tim had been doing. He only knew that Tim had apparently managed to keep the portal from being opened. He wondered how they could explain the sudden appearance of a circular plaque with the etching of a three-headed dragon on it. ...and then he wondered if anyone else would even be able to see it.

"Tim, wake up! ...or do whatever is required to come back to reality. Please?"

Tim's breathing continued, loud and disturbing.

"Someone is going to see and how in the world am I going to explain this, McGee?"

Tony looked around, wondering if he'd see someone...and then he noticed something very strange. Nothing was moving. Nothing. There were trees and bushes...a creek. The water wasn't moving. Everything was stopped.

"Oh, please...please, tell me that you're doing this, McGee, because if we lost, I'm not going to be happy about it."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim felt as though he was still fighting against something. Something was still draining his energy but he didn't know why...or how. He was started to feel strangely-disturbed.

Then, into the darkness came a gray light. Tim looked around, suddenly aware of the possibility of there being _something_ more than the darkness.

_You have to let it go._

"Let what go?"

_You're holding the world, keeping it safe while you fought for it. You need to let it go. Understand and know. See what is truth._

Tim thought about it and realized how much effort he was expending.

_Yes, you have to let the world go. It was necessary to hold it, but now it can continue. It is safe._

A mere flash of form. Familiar. "Soren."

_Yes. Let the world go._

"How?"

_Relax. Know that it is safe. You will feel what to do._

Tim took a breath. He let his senses extend outward. The portal was sealed. It was closed and could not be opened...for now. It _was_ safe to let the world go on as it had been. He could let time progress.

The gray light faded and the darkness returned.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Tim?"

Tony leaned forward as Tim sighed...and blinked.

"Hey, Tim. You in there?"

Tim moved. He blinked again and looked around. Then, he closed his eyes and lifted his hand, stretching his fingers to their fullest extent. The dragon on his palm shivered and glowed and then lay quiescent.

Suddenly, the water began to flow, the wind to move through the trees...and Tim slumped and would have fallen to the ground but for Tony's quick movement to catch him.

"Hey, Tim."

"Tony..." Tim said weakly. "You okay?"

"Tired, but I'm fine. You?"

Tim opened his eyes a crack. "Tired doesn't begin to describe it. Do I have to move? Ever again? I'd like to just...just rest here. Forever."

"No way, McGee," Tony said, relief making him smile. "We'll be arrested for loitering."

"Might be worth it. Would they carry me away?"

Tony didn't like how limp Tim was, even if he was making jokes (sort of).

"Drag you is more likely...and then we'd have to explain where a statue of a three-headed dragon came from and why..."

"No one will see it." Tim closed his eyes and lifted his palm once more. He trembled with some kind of supernatural effort and the portal vanished.

"McGee...I think you should stop with the Merlin stuff. You're almost transparent."

"I'll be okay. Have to...clean up the mess."

"Need anything from me, McGee?" Tony asked, although dreading the feeling he'd had before of having his life sucked away.

Tim was quiet for a few seconds and then he blinked blearily at Tony.

"Could you help me get home? I won't make it right now."

"Sure thing, Probie."

Tony slung one of Tim's limp arms around his shoulders, clasped him tightly around the waist and hauled Tim upright. It was a good thing he was feeling stronger than he had in that...that metareality place because Tim was giving him no help at all.

"Can you at least _pretend_ you're walking, McGee?"

"No...I can't. Really, Tony. I'm sorry. Staying conscious is about all I can do right now."

Tony could feel that. Even with his current lack of physical ability, Tim's body was shaking and his head continually lolled back.

"Man, you're like Wesley on _The Princess Bride_ after he was mostly dead, only we don't have Fezzik to carry you around...and you're no lightweight."

"Sorry about that."

Tony greatly regretted that he had not only failed to bring his car with him to Rock Creek Park but he had also not brought any money and so taking a cab was out. They just had to stagger through the streets like a pair of drunks until finally, _finally_ , Tim's building appeared. By that time, Tim was even making a pretense of walking.

"Here we are, McGee. You're almost home."

"Great."

Together, they stumbled up the steps to Tim's apartment. The door was open, thank goodness. Tony didn't want to admit it, but he was feeling plenty shaky himself, just not as shaky as Tim happened to be.

"Bed?"

Tim tripped over his own feet and nearly fell over.

"Thought you'd never ask, Tony."

"Funny guy."

Tony dragged Tim into the bedroom and they both stopped and stared at the bed. The holes from the spectral arms still visible.

"You know what, Tony? On second thought...I don't want to...sleep there tonight. I'd rather sleep at my desk." Tim pulled away and reeled to his closet, leaning heavily against the doors. "I'll just...sleep somewhere else. This will work."

"Hey, McGee," Tony said, "you don't look stable enough to walk yet."

"I'm not," Tim said and fell forward into the closet.

Tony ran over and crouched in front of Tim.

"Hey, Tim you think that's going to happen again? I thought we were stopping that."

"We were... We did...I think. We'd better have. ...but...I don't want to sleep there for tonight. I don't..." Tim shook his head. "...it doesn't have to be logical."

Tony laughed. "Hey, McGee, we just spent who knows how long locked in battle with demons. You think I'm expecting logic right now?"

Tim smiled tiredly. "I guess not."

"How about another Road show?"

"What?"

"We can make it a tradition. We save the world or kill off some demons and we watch a Road show. Last time, we watched _Road to Morocco_."

Tim chuckled. "So are you saying we're going to watch _Road to Zanzibar_ this time?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"I can't think of a single reason why not. I'm not driving."

"All right. I think I can drive this time."

Tony put out his hand and grabbed Tim by the arm, pulling him upright once more. They left Tim's apartment and got in Tony's car.

"So...you sealed that portal, McGee...is that the only entrance?"

Tim shook his head. "No. That's not how it works. We just took an idea and made it real."

"Huh?"

"The...the world where the spirits exist...it's this metareality. It doesn't have physical form. ...but we have to see physical forms. So we take something that isn't physical and make it physical. By sealing that portal, we're cutting off their access. It probably won't last forever. They'll find another way, but for now...for now, that will hold."

"How long?"

"Hopefully until long after I'm dead and another knower can take the job. I'm ready to pass it on, I think."

Tony smiled. "You did a good job, Tim."

"Wouldn't have been able to without you there, Tony."

"Ah, don't get all mushy on me."

"Yes, sir." Tim closed his eyes and slept the rest of the way to Tony's apartment.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

" _Patty-cake, patty-cake, baker's man. Bake a cake as fast as you..."_

" _He must've seen the picture!"_

The two men slept the sleep of the just. Was it the end? Maybe, maybe not, but for now, the story was over.

They slept.

_Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing,  
_ _Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before..._

FINIS!


End file.
